The Path of the Sun
by Vivacious Winter
Summary: As Konoha rebuilds under the Sixth, Naruto Uzumaki, love blossoms, bonds are tested, and new opportunities abound. What happens when one daughter will not talk and the other will not communicate? Will he overcome this to find new love? Reviews encouraged.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This story follows the manga up to chapter 429. From chapter 429 onward, I have filled in with my imagination. It will contain spoilers, though. If you are uncomfortable reading spoilers, do not continue. You have been warned.**

**The Path of the Sun**

Chapter One

It seemed as if everyone knew the story and Sakura Haruno was no exception. The story had its roots in the history of Naruto Uzumaki. What was the tale of a young, troubled nobody determined to become a somebody had been twisted and warped into an epic saga that chronicled the very existence of the current village of Konoha.

It included all of the necessary elements to be considered a "legend"; a friendship worth fighting for, a betrayal, a rise from ashes, an astounding amount of growth, a threat, a shattering battle that left the Village Hidden in the Leaves nothing but a pile of debris. The apparent grand finale of this saga was the immediate promotion of Naruto from Genin to Hokage in the middle of the wreckage that had been Konoha.

The story, however, continued. Over the next three years, what remained of the Leaf Village's ninja and citizens banded together for the first time since the original founding of the village to rebuild their home. At the head of this movement was the revolutionary Sixth Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, whose ideals on friendship and teamwork included the combining of nin and commoners. The grand village was restored and peace settled once more.

Yet the tale still did not end. At least not in the eyes of Naruto. In the fourth year after the Grand Battle, as it had come to be called, the Hokage surprised the village by engaging a woman. Her name was not immediately released, which had led the village to assume she was either some strong ninja from another village, or that they should already know who he was betrothed to.

The latter assumption led to the speculation of Naruto's fiancé. The names of all of the female ninja from the age bracket surrounding Naruto's were considered. In an non-communicated unanimous decision, the village deemed Sakura Haruno, the chief medical ninja, the only person suitable for Naruto and the only one he could love. Their thoughts never crossed over the heiress of ninja clan in their own village.

Thus, when Naruto made his engagement to Hinata Hyuuga public, the entire population of Konoha was shocked. No one, of course, protested or thought that the Sixth had made a bad choice; After all, Naruto had always been one of the best Hokages in history, rivaled only by the Third and the Fourth. His people loved him and would follow him under any circumstance.

The wedding was grand, and opened to everyone. Hinata was a vision in white: Her thick ankle-length black hair was piled high on her head in loose, wavy curls that still managed to touch the collar of her pearly white wedding kimono. Her pupil-less pale eyes shone with a happiness that had yet to be seen in her. The Sixth, as tradition went, wore a sweeping robe of red and white for the ceremony. He, too, was nearly exploding with joy. The only person, it seemed, unhappy was Hiashi Hyuuga.

If the engagement had been a cause of shock, it was nothing compared to the surprise of the discovery, one year later, that the Hokage and his wife were expecting their first child. Nine months were spent in a state of intense anxiety. Within the last month of Hinata's gestation, at every appearance she made with the Sixth, every eye was on her, the glowing mother-to-be, as if she was about to pop.

As chance had it, however, Hinata went into labor in the middle of the night and by the next morning, Naruto was practically running through town, mustering up the villagers for a spur-of-the-moment speech. After nearly all of Konoha was gathered before him, the Hokage announced that at approximately four that morning, he and Hinata had been granted a daughter. Over the roar of cheers that rang throughout the village, Naruto alerted the public to the baby's name: Mariko. When the villagers, ninja and commoners alike, had returned home to plan celebrations, toasts went out to the new baby and her name. "Mariko," it was heard to say, "True village child. What a perfect name."

It was no surprise that as Mariko grew to Academy age, she was one of the top in her class. Not only, however, was she the pride of the village, but she was a friend to all that met her. If the amount of fawning attention she received had ever gotten to her head, she never let it show. Her teachers and the older ninja of the village compared her to Naruto as a child, only happier. She was hyper, bubbly, joyful, and most of all, determined. Unfortunately, it was around Mariko's graduation into Genin-hood that Hinata began to fall ill.

She lasted for nearly four more years before the unnamed sickness became too much to handle at home and she, under Naruto's urging, had seen a medic. Every medic ninja had a time limit set for her with this unknown illness: a year, three months, two weeks. Naruto, however, in disbelief and confusion, took her to see Sakura, whom he had always trusted with his own health.

Sakura explained her illness; it was closest to a medical problem called "cancer". Cancer only occurred in commoners, though, because the amount of chakra in ninja kept cell growth under control. In Hinata, a reverse effect had occurred. Her chakra had grown too large for her cells, much like a cancerous tumor, and her cells had begun to attack it in order for her to live. It ate away the extra, deadly chakra and brought her back to a healthy level, but it did not stop there. Now the cells, fed so long on extra chakra, were turning on what remained.

Sakura said that there was no cure, but there was treatment. Where Hinata had been taking three steps backward, she would now be able to take one step forward for every two back, prolonging her life. Hinata met with Sakura every two days for the chief medical nin's special treatment. Her life as a ninja was over and now she was fighting for her life and, to her surprise, the life of another: she was pregnant once more.

The village noticed that the Hokage's wife, unlike in her last pregnancy, had been making fewer and fewer appearances with her husband throughout the nine months. When she did show up for ceremonies or in public, she was always on the arm of the Sixth and it was clear that she was wasting away. In her last public appearance, her skin had become dangerously pale and she could hardly walk. Her once thick dark hair had turned completely white, though her face was free of wrinkles. She was being supported heavily by Naruto, but it was clear, though she was obviously dying, that she was trying to spread her happiness about being a mother again.

A week after that appearance, two weeks before her due date, Hinata experienced a terrible stabbing pain all throughout her body. Naruto rushed her immediately to Sakura, who sadly told Naruto that the end had finally come. Naruto, through many tears, begged Sakura to save their child, if she could. As Sakura performed an emergency delivery, Naruto said his good-byes to his wife. She smiled once more, clasped his hand, and told him that she loved him and Mariko. She then closed her eyes. Naruto's face broke with fresh tears, but was hushed when Hinata gave his hand one more small squeeze.

"Jiraiya and the Third… The Fourth. He says he's proud… of you. And our _emi_, our beautiful blessing." A baby's cry and a mother's last sigh, and Naruto entered a new chapter in the story of his life.

[]

It was this that Sakura thought of as she inspected a two-year-old Emi. She looked up at Naruto; He had aged only two years, yet he looked as if the weight of ten had settled upon him since Hinata's death. In her own arms sat his small child, large pearlescent Byakugan eyes blinking curiously under a shock of pixie-like short black hair. The child's father, standing opposite of the check-up table, looked oddly restrained.

"Naruto, you can breathe. I can't find anything wrong with her," she said. She offered the young girl to her dad. "She responds immediately to any stimulation and she's quite smart; She had no problem figuring out puzzles from the age bracket above hers. There is nothing wrong with her vocal cords, so she is not mute. I don't know why she won't talk or make sounds, but there is nothing mentally or physically _wrong_ with her."

"I wish she would just say a word," Naruto admitted. "Or even a sound, one sound. A gurgle. A squeal. Anything." He paused when Emi lifted her fat toddler hands and rubbed at the whisker-marks on the Hokage's face. He smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "But I'm glad there's nothing wrong."

"You know, Naruto," Sakura said thoughtfully. "She might simply be making a conscious decision to not make sounds. Has she cried or made any sound before?"

Naruto thought back over the last two years. He could not think of a time that the child had ever made a sound. The baby had not had a reason to cry the entire span of her existence. Even at the beginning… No! Wait!

"She cried a little when she was born," Naruto answered. Sakura smiled.

"You see, I think that proves it. There's nothing wrong with her and no reason to make a sound, so she has decided that vocalizing anything is not worth the effort. A mini-tactician if I've ever seen one," she added with a smile, ruffling the baby's messy black hair. "Speaking of tacticians, where has Mariko been? She hasn't come to see me at all in the past few months."

"She's on a mission at the moment, but I don't know why she hasn't visited in so long. I'll be sure to tell her to stop by," he added, making his way out of the hospital room.

"Yeah, hopefully she'll see you before she sees me."

"You know she's never been injured on a mission," Naruto reminded his pink-haired friend. "Maybe a few bruises or scratches, but nothing major. She's got a Byakugan that-"

"-rivals Neji's. I know, I know." Sakura rolled her eyes. "Best Jounin of her time. Inches from ANBU. Lives to protect her comrades. Perfect mix of beauty and brains and strength. Naruto, I'm not interested in buying her so you can stop selling her," she added sarcastically.

"I'm not-" Naruto sputtered, but he was interrupted.

"But, I think Hiko might be interested, and I'd bet my headband that he'd pay higher than an old lady like me." Sakura laughed at her own joke as a groaning man on a stretcher was rushed past them into the operating room. Seeing as the medics had not even stopped to grant Sakura a salute, as they normally did within the hospital walls, both she and Naruto assumed it was an emergency.

"Shouldn't you be running in after them, Chief?" Naruto asked Sakura when she did not immediately fly through the doors.

"They're just going to be prepping him now, and washing up. They'll need me in about two minutes." She yawned, and stretched her arms out behind her with two satisfying cracks. Sure enough, as Naruto placed Emi in her carrying holster on his chest and prepared to leave, the doors swung open in their direction and an eager-looking medic ninja peered out. Behind him, Naruto could just see Ino scanning the patient with her chakra. The male first turned to Naruto.

"Good afternoon, Hokage, sir. Milady," continued the nin, redirecting his gaze at Sakura. "We are ready for you now." Sakura nodded and gave a wave of her hand and the medic disappeared behind the doors once more.

"It was nice seeing you," Sakura said. She bestowed a small smile on Naruto and hugged both him and Emi, as they were tied together with the holster. He smiled back.

"You should come around for dinner tonight, if you can. Mariko will be back and have no choice but to visit with you," he added. "But she might have her teammates over for a post-mission discussion with Konohamaru."

"I'll try to make it," she replied quickly, waving her hand and walking calmly through the double-doors to the still-groaning man.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: This story follows the manga up to chapter 429. From chapter 429 onward, I have filled in with my imagination. It will contain spoilers, though. If you are uncomfortable reading spoilers, do not continue. You have been warned. Also, the Review Replies on this go out to people on several different websites where this is posted. Unless I get an obscene amount of reviews, then I will try to respond to all of you.**

Review Replies:

**Jebus** - First of all, thank you for taking your time to review. Just the fact that you replied where you would not normally means the world to a writer like me. Secondly, thank you for your compliment on my writing. That will help in the long run to push me into chapter two. Finally, I agree with you. Mariko's sudden advancement was too quick for even me, the writer. I do, however, have things in mind that will ultimately become obstacles on the way to her goal: ANBU. Thank you again!

**overlordofnobodies** - Thank you for reviewing. I do not want to get too far ahead of myself, but I feel obligated to answer: Yes, you will begin to, once you meet the Mariko's teammates, see romantic tension. I cannot divulge anymore secrets here, but stay tuned for more.

**SpeeDemon** - Hey, thanks for reviewing! Yes, this story focuses largely on Naruto's children, but in reality, there are two stories going on. This chapter should give you hints as to what the two stories will hold.

**The Path of the Sun**

Chapter Two

"Dad?" A strongly feminine voice rang through the dining room in the Hokage's Mansion. At the far end of the room, Naruto looked up to see his daughter, Mariko walk in followed by two taller ninja. A grin graced his face and he stood up in a rush of billowing robes that hid Emi, playing on the floor.

"Mariko," Naruto greeted as he walked the length of the large dining room. "How did your mission go?" Mariko's face flickered with a hint of a smile as she handed over a packet of papers. Then, sighting her little sister, Mariko scooped her up in her arms.

"Target acquired, victims rescued, happy ending," she summed up briefly, tickling her baby sister's sides, earning many silent smiles. Naruto flipped through some of the papers on the top of the packet and nodded.

"Good, good. And your mission report seems to be in order," he added before looking up to address the ninja standing behind her. "Hiko, Manabu," he welcomed, shaking each hand in turn. The two males grinned at their Hokage and asked how he was, a conversational border that was not typically crossed between shinobi and their leader. Hiko and Manabu, however, had practically grown up around the Sixth. Upon being placed on Mariko's team, the three: Hiko Akamichi, Manabu, and Mariko Uzumaki, had become nearly inseparable. Even during their days off, they were known to travel around the village together, or else relax at one of the other teammates' houses. More often than not, the house they remained at was the Hokage's Mansion.

"I'm just fine, just fine. How about you?"

"Decent. I'm working on perfecting a new jutsu, actually," Hiko answered with a note of pride in his voice. Naruto's eyes widened appreciatively.

"What is it like?" Though he was Hokage and his entire life was dedicated to watching over his village, Naruto never grew tired of hearing about his people's novel achievements.

"Well, sir, you know how I can use my mother's jutsu to mind-transfer with animals," he paused to allow the Sixth to nod his agreement. "This takes that ability to a whole new level. Any type of animal that I have switched minds with before… I am training my body to form into that animal."

"That is impressive," Naruto remarked. He smiled, clapped a hand on his daughter's teammate's shoulder and wished him luck. He then turned to the other male with a warm smile.

"Manabu, how are you doing?"

"I am doing well, sir." His voice was calm, quiet, and seemed to be measured. He flashed a small smile.

"And how about your mother? How is she dealing with the idea of triplets?" Naruto asked. For an instant, the brown eyes that peered out from under Manabu's tuft of ebony hair seemed to darken. The moment passed, however, leaving the Sixth to wonder if he had really seen it at all. Manabu gave a small chuckle.

"I don't think all of the weapons in the world could help her, sir."

"And your father? How does Lee feel?"

"I don't imagine that I've seen Dad any happier. Well," he paused to think for a moment. "Maybe when Rin was born, but then again, it was his first daughter." Manabu's statement was punctuated by a loud knock. Naruto jumped slightly and barely had time to blink an eye, let alone ponder who could be knocking on his door before Mariko spoke.

"Sakura-san is here," she said, the veins that accompanied her Byakugan ebbing back into her smooth skin.

"Oh! Is it already dinner time?" The Hokage looked down at his watch and nodded before walking off to answer the door. He called back over his shoulder: "Gentlemen, you are more than welcome to stay for dinner." He heard two mumbled "thank you"s and the sounds of Mariko ushering the boys to her bedroom. Subconsciously thankful for Mariko's sexual integrity, he turned his attention to his guest, whom he had just opened the door to greet.

"Well, it's about time!" Sakura said playfully. "I've only knocked about a hundred times!"

"Sorry," Naruto laughed. "Mariko just got back and I was talking to her teamma-"

"Does that mean Manabu is here?" Sakura asked over him. Naruto narrowed his eyes a little at the interruption.

"Uhm… yeah. Why?"

"TenTen missed her appointment and I was worried that something was wrong," she said, looking around them as if Manabu had a habit of mysteriously showing up in people's foyers. Naruto placed a hand on each of her shoulders and forced her gaze back center.

"I just talked to him and he said his mother is fine. If, however, you feel the need to interrogate him, I'm going to ask you to wait until dinner. Until then, I need help in the kitchen," he added, turning and walking off in the direction of the door that led to that very room.

"The kitchen? Naruto! You can't tell me you're trying to cook…" She rounded the corner and sure enough, the Sixth Hokage was leaning over a pot of who-knew-what. Sakura grimaced and leaned against the doorframe. Naruto turned and caught a look at the expression on her face.

"What?"

"Naruto, why don't you just get your helpers to cook for you? I know they're more than willing and it's an altogether better way to avoid poisoning your children and your guests," she added with a grin. Naruto's countenance darkened into a scowl as he turned once more to the pot bubbling on his stove.

"I cooked for myself all my life, you know."

"Try again, O' Great Toad Sage. You lived off of instant ramen bowls for twenty years until you got married, and then Hinata cooked for you the next decade through," she finished, placing her hands triumphantly on her hips. Suddenly, Naruto's face broke out with a shining grin.

"Alright, alright. But who's to say that I didn't learn how to cook?"

"I'll be the judge of that," Sakura said and crossed the kitchen in a few long strides. Using her best friend's shoulder for leverage, Sakura leaned up on her toes to peer into the tall pot. Once she was poised over the bubbling dish, an absolutely savory scent caressed her sense of smell. The aroma of well-cooked beef, corn, and potatoes wafted up to her, causing her mouth to water. She leaned back down and looked at an eager Hokage; he was waiting for her to pass a judgment. Unwilling to admit that he had indeed learned to cook, and cook well, Sakura compromised.

"I think it needs carrots," she said nonchalantly with an accompanying shrug. Once again, Naruto smiled. If, even after twenty-two years of his being Hokage, Sakura did not expect to catch the small falter in her eye, she was mistaken. The pink-haired kunoichi had lied to him.

"I see," he said, walking to the fridge and rummaging in the lower drawers for the vegetable she called for. Upon locating it, he straightened up and walked towards the pot of stew.

[]

The room was silent with the exception of three sets of lungs performing their everlasting task. Three people sat almost perfectly still where they had fallen: Mariko on her bed, Hiko in Mariko's desk chair, and Manabu at the foot of her bed. After an hour, or perhaps it was only a minute or two, it was hard to tell when you sat still so long, someone said something out loud.

"I'm sorry, Manabu." It was the only female that spoke. Hiko swiveled the chair around to look at his teammate and Manabu himself leaned his head back on the bed and looked at Mariko upside-down.

"What for?"

"My dad doesn't know anything about you and your family," she paused with a heavy sigh. "He's always blindly happy when stuff like this happens."

"It's not his fault. He sees his old comrades growing up and granting the village more life. I'm sure one day, we'll be excited to see the same thing," he added with a slightly happy note ringing through in his voice.

"I feel kind of bad about it, too," Hiko admitted. He ran a hand through the roots of his long blonde hair, gathered in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. "Hokage-sama jumped on the idea of my new jutsu but the only thing he cared about with you was the new kids."

"It's fine, I said." His teammates fell silent and looked away from him; A certain firmness had seeped into Manabu's voice, making it all too clear that he had noticed the Hokage's interest. A moment later, however, granted Manabu a certain guilt for his shortness with his friends.

"Obviously, it's not fine," said Mariko. She was close to his ear and he nearly jumped out of surprise. She laid a hand on his shoulder comfortingly and sighed. A blush crawled across Manabu's face at her sudden proximity at the same time that a small flash flickered in Hiko's eyes. From downstairs, Naruto called for dinner and it a mixture of tensions, the three stood and left Mariko's bedroom.

Manabu hurried downstairs, eager to escape from the tension altogether, leaving Mariko and Hiko traveling in his wake. When they had reached the second landing and Manabu was out of sight, Hiko stopped, causing Mariko, who had been walking behind him, to stop also.

"What's the matter?" Manabu asked. Hiko turned around and faced his teammate in the semi-darkness.

"Nothing. I just wanted to tell you that I'm glad the mission went well and you did a great job leading us when Konohamaru-sensei was missing," he added. Mariko paused before she thanked him, and looked up at the bright blue eyes that were shifted to a point above her right shoulder. She took the minute to regard him; he was a good six inches taller than her and his long blonde hair and bright aqua eyes gave away half of his parentage. He was handsome by all definitions of it, but held no resemblance to his father.

"Thank you, Hiko," Mariko said carefully, a hint of finality in her tone. She had a feeling of what was coming before he had changed tracks in the conversation, and as his teammate, that was something she wanted to avoid at all costs. Any form of romance had the ability to mar their teamwork and possibly get one or all of them killed on a mission. No, that distraction was not necessary; Not when she was so close to becoming part of ANBU.

The two resumed their walk downstairs and arrived in the dining room to a two-thirds full table. At the head sat Naruto, to his left was Sakura and to his right was Emi. Manabu sat next to Emi, leaving the other end of the table for Mariko and the seat closest to Sakura for Hiko. The two sat in their respective seats and, after the table had offered thanks, began to eat.

"Mariko, I haven't seen you around in a while," Sakura remarked with a half-glance at Naruto. He gave the tiniest of nods to her, as if encouraging her to go on.

"I've been away for the past month on a mission," Mariko answered almost dismissively. Her eyes, which had hardened into two cold, pearly jewels, did not leave her plate to look at the woman addressing her.

"I see," said Sakura whose own gaze fell to her plate. Her gaze also hardened and she looked up defiantly. "And before that?" Three pairs of eyes looked up from their plate and focused at the end of the table on Mariko.

"I was patrolling the prison," Mariko said coldly, still a little shocked that Sakura had persisted.

"As far as I know, prison patrols take a day, two at most, and go in shifts," Sakura countered.

"What would you know?" Mariko said briefly with an air at clutching at straws. The blood rose in Sakura's face. Naruto opened his mouth to reprimand his daughter but was not given the chance.

"I'd say I know a fair few more things than you, seeing as I've been a ninja since before you were born. Do not forget who you are speaking to, young lady," Sakura said firmly. Mariko glared down the table at her. "And furthermore, I have been on more prison patrols in just my Jounin-hood than you have in your entire career. _That_ is what I would know."

Silence hit the table like a mallet. No one moved or dare say anything lest the two hardened stares be directed at them as opposed to each other. The only things that sliced through the atmosphere were the joyful bangs of Emi's spoon against her highchair. Both of Mariko's teammates sat still, jaws dropped and directed at their fellow Jounin. Not only was it uncharacteristically rude for Mariko to back-talk a rank higher than her, but to talk to Sakura-san with as much fury as she did now… Both wondered what had happened between the two.

"Mariko," Naruto said, his normally cheerful blue eyes narrowed in anger, "You are excused from the table." Mariko stood with the loud scraping of her chair and stormed out of the dining room. As soon as she was gone, and her footsteps could be heard over their heads as she made her way to her bedroom, Sakura spoke.

"Sorry, Naruto," Sakura said, though her voice clearly did not contain the same remorse.

"That's alright," he said, anger fading from his face. "I've never seen her act like that, especially to you. Do either of you know why she's being like this?"

"No, sir," said Hiko.

"I was always under the impression that she looked up to Sakura-san, before," Manabu contributed.

"But now that you say something," Hiko remembered, "She's stopped talking about her since before this past mission."

"I see." Naruto paused and looked down at his plate of cold stew. With a sigh, he stood up and the rest of the table followed suit out of respect. "What do you say I treat all of you to ramen?" While the two males grinned and thanked the Hokage, Sakura tried on a much softer smile. Even when he was worried, and playing the scolding parent, Naruto was the same Naruto he had always been.


End file.
